Agents of Change - Impacting Your World
Pulpit Curriculum
Derek A. Ward
July 14, 2024

Pulpit Curriculum: Agents of Change

July 14th – July 20th, 2024

Sermon Summary

Today’s sermon highlights the segment of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus explains the nature and role of his disciples by reference to the positive characteristics of salt and light, two ever-presents in everyday life with which his listeners could readily identify. Consequently, Pastor in a passionate discourse, challenges his audience to mimic Jesus’s call by being, like salt, a preservative of righteousness in society, secondly, to shine a light on divine truth, and, ultimately, perform these actions always with a view to giving glory to God.

Verse of the Week

Matthew 5:13
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Going Deeper

Review: Review Matthew 5:13-16

1) Jesus said: “you are the salt of the earth” Matthew 5:13 ; He also likened the kingdom of heaven to yeast Matthew 13:33 .
How do these two teachings taken together enhance your understanding of the role believers are expected to play in kingdom work?

2) In today’s text, believers are described as “the light of the world”, yet Jesus also said elsewhere “I am the light of the world” John 8:12 .

a) Explain and clarify the true meaning and impact of these apparently conflicting statements, making further reference to scripture as appropriate.

b) As a believer, to what extent does this understanding enhance your faith in Christ?

3) In the sermon Pastor emphasized the believer’s role as a preservative against society’s moral and spiritual decay by living godly lives.

a) Citing Scripture, identify one exemplar who responded to the call to preserve righteousness by living a life of integrity in doing kingdom work despite contrary pressure from society.

b) What measures were taken to combat the inevitable challenges to the task in hand as they arose?

4) On spiritual blindness, Pastor suggested that ‘darkness signifies the inability to see or comprehend spiritual truths’. With reference to at least one event in Scripture set out your understanding of the tension between physical and spiritual blindness and how this conundrum was resolved by Jesus in the context

5) Today’s text ends with Jesus enjoining His listeners to ‘give glory to your Father’ through their actions. Jesus also drew attention to ‘glory to God’ in a somewhat different circumstance in John 11:40

a) Compare and contrast Jesus’s teaching on light in the Mount sermon with his reference in the Lazarus story.

b) What do these events teach us about the nature of the relationship between us as believers and God?

Assess Your Life

The following questions are meant to encourage personal reflection and identify areas for spiritual growth in your relationship with God. Ask yourself the questions, respond honestly, write down your responses, and then prayerfully seek God’s conviction and guidance to move forward to repentance and restoration. In your Small Group, or in discussions with your friends and family, be open to sharing your responses with others in a spirit of accountability and transparency.


1) What do I need to work on to better show people Christ in me?

2) What is that first impression folk leave with when they meet me?

3) Is anyone ever surprised to hear that I am a Christian?

4) Can I think of and name at least a couple people who have said to me over time that I helped turn them away from doing an ungodly thing?

5) How do right thinking people react when they interact with me during ordinary everyday activities? Does my behaviour ever shock or disappoint?

6) What would I want to do differently if Jesus ever came to dinner at our home?

Application

One key objective of this Pulpit Curriculum is taking God’s truth as exposed in the sermon and helping people apply that truth in practical and intentional ways to plot a course toward obedience and transformation. This section is intended to achieve that objective.


I want to do better in my God relationship for sure. To this end I commit to doing the following two specific things this very week:

• I will be vulnerable and humbly pray for Holy Spirit’s guidance in assessing where I am at present in my walk with Christ.

• I will intentionally seek out a trusted mature Christian friend to mentor me and assist me in conducting a personal spiritual inventory to help me get back where the Lord wants me to be.

I will ask_____ to hold me accountable in this.


Sermon Main Points

As agents of change, all believers must…

Preserve righteousness in a decaying world (Matthew 5:13)
We are to mimic qualities of salt including adding flavour, medicinal, and acting as preservatives of reihgteousness.

Illuminate truth in darkness (Matthew 5:14-15)
Like a light we are to stand out, eliminating the darkness of sin and separation from God while promoting righteousness, holiness and God’s revelatory truth in order to transform lives.

Live to bring glory to God (Matthew 5:16)
We must do all the above to be a visible aexample of Christ’s love and truth in all areas of our lives and ultimately to bring glory to God

Sermon Reflection

What stood out for me in this sermon?

• Just as salt preserves and enhances flavor, and light dispels darkness, our lives are meant to make a significant and positive impact.

• We don’t work to be saved, but work because we are saved.

• The church scattered should be more impactful than the church gathered.

• As followers of Christ, Christians can be the light of the world by embodying and reflecting the qualities of Christ in their daily lives.

• Be careful of the impurities of the world that can overpower the Christian character within you.

What can I do to remember this?

Quotes

5 Day Study Plan

Use the Inductive Bible Study method to study these scriptures this week and remember to share with someone else.

Follow these steps

1. Observe the text.
(What do you see in the text? Look for answers to questions like: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?)

2. Interpret the text.
(What did God and the human author of the text want the original people reading this text to understand/do? Why?)

3. Apply the text.
(How do I need to change in my thinking, my affections, my attitudes, and/or my actions?)


Day 1 - Romans 12:1-2

Day 2 - Nehemiah 6:1-4

Day 3 - John 1:1-5

Day 4 - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Day 5 - Proverbs 27:17


For best results, this content should be read and prepared privately and then discussed in your small group or with family / friends. We were not created to do life alone - get connected with a small group and grow together.